The Secretary of State of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland visits the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia

18.11.2017

On November 17-18, a delegation
headed by the Secretary of State of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of
Finland, Mr. Samuli Virtanen, visited the European Union Monitoring Mission
(EUMM) in Georgia. The delegation included H.E. Ms. Arja Makkonen, the Ambassador
for the South Caucasus of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.

On 17 November, the
delegation met with the Acting Head of EUMM Georgia, Mr. Erik Høeg, who
highlighted the importance of Finnish contribution to the Mission. Mr. Høeg
expressed appreciation for the excellent work done by Finnish nationals working
in the EUMM, highlighting the fact that the Finnish contingent of 14 seconded
staff members is fully gender-balanced with an equal number of men and women
deployed in Georgia. The delegation were given a briefing about the Missions
mandate and present situation on the ground, followed by a discussion with the
Acting Head of the EUMM and colleagues on dynamics and prospects for conflict
management. Mr. Samuli Virtanen expressed his appreciation for the work done by
the EUMM and reiterated Finland’s strong support to the Mission.

On 18 November, Mr. Virtanen and the Finnish delegation joined a patrol
with the EUMM Field Office in Gori to get a first hand impression of the
latest developments at the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) with South Ossetia. Mr. Virtanen was deeply impressed about the human dimension of the borderisation and how these activities affect people living along the Administrative Boundary Line.

Acting Head of Mission greets the visitors and opens the meeting

From left to right: Mr. Samuli Virtanen, Secretary of State of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Erik
Høeg, Acting Head of EUMM, H.E. Ms. Arja Makkonen, Ambassador for the South Caucasus of the Ministry
for Foreign Affairs of Finland

The delegation observes the situation along the Administrative Boundary Line with South Ossetia